Types of Barong Tagalog Fabrics You Need to Know
The famous Barong or Barong Tagalog is an embroidered formal article of a garment in the Philippines. Men mostly wear it for formal events like graduation, wedding, or use during official government functions.
You see, Barongs aren’t only famous, but they are comfortable to wear too. That’s because they are made of very thin fabrics and complement well with the country’s tropical weather.
The Barong Tagalog fabrics could sound very foreign to most people. Read further to get to know them better, so you may pick the best Barong Tagalog fabric for you.
But remember that the Barong Tagalog comes in various types of fabrics – organza, jusilyn, piña, and Jusi. These materials range in price, thickness, opaqueness, softness, quality, and other factors. Below are the four most common types of fabrics used in Barong Tagalog, as well as their pros and cons.
Organza
First off, we have Organza fabric. This is a cost-efficient material for a Barong Tagalog. It’s transparent and a sheer material, which is made from polyester and silk. Did you know it’s the lowest price of Barong you can find in the market today?
Its shiny look is either ideal for others or overly glaring for some depending on the occasion. You will surely light up on stage with an Organza Barong, especially if you are wearing it for a performance of some kind.
However, this fabric is typically not the best option if you want a low-key barong for a wedding or office wear. The transparent and sheer material of an Organza Barong is made of polyester and silk – which are cheap materials – making these Barongs more reasonable than other fabrics.
Another event this fabric works is if you need to wear a Barong Tagalog once. It’s quite cheap to get an Organza Barong Tagalog at BarongWorld.com
Jusi
Ultimately, the Jusi Barong is suitable for people who do not like to spend a huge amount of money on a Barong but still like to look more classic and more refined. Keep in mind that this Barong is made out of a silk type material. It’s much softer and opaquer to the touch compared to the Organza Barong. However, it is less costly than Piña Barong.
Like the Organza fabric, this material can be typically seen in various styles and colors. One specific style you may find in the market is the Piña-Jusi Barong. Ideally, it is a Jusi but has little strips, which look like that of the Piña material.
Furthermore, you may also find the Monochromatic Jusi Barong style. This Barong Tagalog has been hand-dyed to have a hombre or gradient effect of color from the top to the garment’s bottom.
Like Organza Fabric, this fabric is made from silk fabric but has a softer touch and opaque. Take note that Jusi Barong these days come in different designs and colors, making it a perfect option for attending formal affairs.
The natural color of this Barong is off-white. Barong suppliers often hand-paint it with Piña streaks to offer it a unique color like the Piña fabric. Did you know that the treated jusi fabric is called jusi-piña? The quality of this fabric depends on the paint application methods. Hence, the quality differs substantially from one supplier to another.
Jusilyn
Jusilyn is a much reasonable Barong fabric like Jusi. It is made of silk and much opaquer than Jusi. This is a mechanically woven fabric, which is made from cotton or silk, and polyester. The material is specially made to mimic Jusi fabric.
It is less costly than Jusi. Compared to Piña fabric, it features a fiber with an off-white color and even texture, lacking the characteristic streaks of Jusi or Piña.
Jusilyn can often be chemically painted to offer a look, which mimics the traditional Barong Tagalog fabrics. They may even trade-off as counterfeit Piña seda or Piña fabrics.
Piña (Pineapple)
Meanwhile, the Piña Barong Tagalog is considered the ultimate statement of Barong elegance. This is originally made from the Philippines, carefully woven by local artisans who have decades of age-old Filipino weaving methods.
Getting a Piña Barong can be a big investment for those Barong Tagalog enthusiasts, as it’s difficult to create and so fine to the touch. Its prices can vary anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars based on the designer and how fine the specific Piña fabric is.
Piña is a sheer fabric from the delicate and fine fibers of the red Spanish pineapple’s leaves. It has a light champagne gold or yellow tinge color. Try to closely evaluate the fabric, and you will see many interweaved fibers with uneven thickness typical of the fine pineapple leaf fibers.
Extracting the subtle piña fibers is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. That complex process makes the Piña Barong Tagalog extremely costly.
The sophisticated Piña is considered the finest of all hand-woven fabrics in the country. You see, it is very rare and available in small amounts from a few weavers. That’s because many weavers like to weave less costly Piña-silk that they can trade immediately in big amounts.
Conclusion
To sum up, keep in mind that the most crucial factor in making a Barong Tagalog is picking the best fabric. The Barong is distinctly Filipino. It had to contend with numerous foreign influences like the Filipino represent it symbolizes. Yet, it has efficiently changed itself as the respectable formal attire for Filipinos and other nationalities.
The global acceptance allowed it to stand side-by-side along with the costliest suits in any grand affair and evoke its appeal. The Barong Tagalog has made a character of its own throughout the years, keeping the Filipino heritage even in the face of the ever- and fast-changing fashion realm.
There you have it! Which of these Barong fabrics would you like to use in the future? Maybe you’ve already worn a few of them. Which is your favorite? Share your thoughts with us by leaving your comments down below!
